The 2018 Volkswagen Atlas is a German take on the mid-size American crossover SUV.

It’s spacious, comfortable, and loaded with features.

The infinitely practical Atlas marks a departure from VW’s traditional strategy which focused on driving dynamics.

The base VW Atlas start at $30,500; on par with its rivals from Ford and Toyota.

These days the saying in the auto business goes something along the lines of, “if you want to sell more cars, forget about cars and start churning out SUVs.” Nowhere is that saying truer than in the US. In October, more than 40% of vehicles sold in the US were crossovers or SUVs. In fact, every segment of the crossover/SUV market has experienced sustained growth all the while passenger car sales have continued to slide.

This brings us to Volkswagen, a brand whose business in the US is built on providing small, fun-to-drive cars like the Golf, the Beetle, the Jetta, and the Passat. So the fact that VW’s sales in the US have plummeted by 26% since 2012 shouldn’t be a surprise. (I’m also aware that VW’s multi-billion dollar emission cheating scandal in 2015 also didn’t help its cause.)

To be fair, Volkswagen has been selling SUVs in the US for more than a decade. Both the first generation Tiguan and the midsize Touareg were good cars. Sadly, the duo was simply too small and expensive to run with the big boys.

However, things are looking up for Volkswagen these days. Through October, the brand’s US sales are up more than 9.4%, the bulk of the growth can be attributed to the arrival of the second-generation Tiguan crossover and the all-new seven-passenger Atlas.

Earlier this year, Business Insider spent a week with a top-of-the-line Atlas V6 SEL Premium with 4Motion all-wheel-drive that cost $49,000. We were so impressed with the Atlas that we brought it back for a second tour duty just to make sure we didn’t miss anything. This time, we got our hands on a mid-grade Atlas V6 SE with 4Motion that cost a tad under $40,000. The base front-wheel-drive, four-cylinder Atlas S starts at $30,500.

Here’s a closer look at the new 2018 Volkswagen Atlas.

Here it is! The 2018 Volkswagen Atlas.

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Hollis Johnson

The first thing you notice with the Atlas is that it’s big. While VW has traditionally gone for svelte and sleek, the Atlas’ blunt front fascia exudes old-school American truck. It’s more Chevy Tahoe than VW Touareg.

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Hollis Johnson

At 16.5-foot-long, the Atlas is classified as a mid-size SUV, but its proportions verge near full-size territory. Even though the Atlas is built on VW’s new modular MQB platform that also underpins…

The reality is that if you’re expecting a 4,500-pound Golf GTI with room for seven, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.

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Hollis Johnson

From our perspective, what we have here is a German take on the American family SUV. A Ford Explorer by way of Wolfsburg, if you will. Well, sort of. The Atlas is actually built in Chattanooga, Tennessee alongside the Passat sedan.

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Hollis Johnson

Step inside the Atlas and VW offers up all of the American family SUV must-haves.

It also comes with full Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration.

There’s also a full suite of available driver’s assistance features such as adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, pedestrian monitoring, blind spot monitoring, overhead view camera, and parking assist.

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Hollis Johnson

The second row is positively cavernous while…

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Hollis Johnson

… The third row will comfortably hold two adults.

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Hollis Johnson

With the third row folded away, the Atlas has a stout 55.5 cubic feet of cargo room.

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Hollis Johnson

Under the hood, the Atlas is available with two engine options. Base models come with a 235 horsepower version of VW’s EA888 2.0-liter, turbocharged, inline-four-cylinder engine. Higher spec versions like our two test cars came equipped with 3.6-liter, 276 horsepower, VR6 narrow-angle V6 engine.

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Hollis Johnson

Both engines are matched to an 8-speed automatic. In our V6 test car, the 8-speed delivered smooth and responsive shifts.

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Hollis Johnson

All-wheel-drive models are equipped with a drive mode selector featuring four on-road settings along with an offroad mode and snow mode.

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Hollis Johnson

Overall, the V6 delivered solid, but not spectacular performance. Even though Car and Driver’s testing showed the big VW could do 0-60mph in a respectable 7.9 seconds, the Atlas didn’t feel all that quick. Acceleration is adequate, but I wouldn’t be opposed to a more powerful engine option.

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Hollis Johnson

Our only complaint is the interior fit and finish of the Atlas. Although the materials were generally of a good quality, a few trim pieces of our new test cars already felt worn. Not a good sign for a vehicle that needs to survive the rough and tumble life of a family hauler.

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Hollis Johnson

And then there’s price. While the old Tiguan and the Touareg were two of the most expensive models in their respective segments, the Atlas sits right in the sweet spot of the mid-size segment. The standard four-cylinder Atlas’s opening price of $30,500 is aimed directly at the Ford Explorer’s $31,660 and the Toyota Highlander’s $30,600 starting sticker.

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Hollis Johnson

Here’s my verdict.

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Hollis Johnson

Embracing Americana is the smartest thing Volkswagen has done in a long time. While it hasn’t completely shed its German heritage, the company finally delivered an off-roader with the power, space, and practicality which caters specifically to the largest and most lucrative SUV market in the world.

It’s a move that, frankly, VW should have made a decade ago. After all, history shows embracing the needs of American car buyers translates to sales. In the early 1990s, Toyota and Honda tried to take on the booming US minivan market with the Previa and the Accord-sedan-based first generation Odyssey. While innovative, the mid-engined Previa proved to be too odd and too expensive for American buyers. At the same time, the original Odyssey was simply too small and too underpowered.

By the late 1990s, Toyota and Honda learned their lesson and built what was effectively their take on the American minivan, complete with V6 power and enough cup holders for a soccer team’s worth of juice boxes. Toyota and Honda struck pay dirt with the Sienna and the second-generation Odyssey.

Two decades later, Ford and General Motors have been pushed completely out of the minivan market while Toyota and Honda have two of the hottest sellers in the land.

Whether VW will be able to convince car buyers to forgo more established options remains to be seen. However, the Atlas, as a product, is certainly as good as anything on the market today.